Combination gate hinge and automatic closer



June 25, 1968 A. B. HARMON 3,389,501

COMBINATION GATE HINGE AND AUTOMATIC CLOSER Filed June 14, 1966 I N VENTOR.

/6 ARIZONA B. HARMON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,389,501 COMBINATIONGATE HINGE AND AUTOMATIC CLOSER Arizona Bill Harmon, 1821 N. 35th St.,Phoenix, Ariz. 85008 Filed June 14, 1966, Ser. No. 557,451 1 Claim. (Cl.49-386) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved hinge and automaticcloser including a pair of vertically spaced hinge-eyes attached to agate post to form a clevis and having an L-shaped rod with one legthereof extending through the hinge as a clevis pin; a torsion coilspring is mounted adjacent the vertical portion of the L-shaped rod andis secured to the hingeeye at one end and to the horizontal leg of theL-shaped rod at the other end.

This invention relates to fence hardware.

More particularly, the invention concerns an improved gate hinge andautomatic gate closer.

In a further aspect, the invention concerns an automatic gate closerwhich occupies relatively less space than conventional gate closers.

In still another aspect, the invention relates to an improvedcombination hinge and automatic gate closer which is less criticallydependent upon proper alignment of the fence components for efficientand positive operation.

In many fencing applications, especially where it is desired to preventaccidental entry into the fenced area by small children, animals, andthe like, it is necessary to have some means for automatically closingthe gate after it is opened. Such gate closers have ranged from thefamiliar weight-and-sashcord apparatus to the complicated spring-returnmechanisms. To date, however, no generally satisfactory apparatus hasbeen developed for use where the gate must be closed with a positivereturn force such as is necessary to actuate a common automatic gatelatch. This is particularly true in the case of socalled chain linkfence and gate combinations.

In the chain link fencegate combination, proper alignment of the variousparts is more critical in order to assure the positive operation of anautomatic gate closer such as are commonly employed in the prior art.Also, it is highly desirable to minimize the Width of the openingbetween the gate post and the frame of the gate in order to deny accessto the fenced area to small animals such as cats, puppies, and the like.

A wide variety of gate closers employing the principle of a power springhave been proposed. In a typical device of the prior art, a powertorsion spring, designed to deliver a torque and generally in the formof a ribbon f heat-treated steel wound on itself, has been employed.However, in order to produce sufficient motive power to return the gateto its closed position with a sufficient positive force to activate anautomatic gate latch, it has been necessary to provide a power springhaving such a great diameter that the spacing of the gate post and gateframe is undesirably large. Furthermore, such gate return devices aregenerally dependent upon more or less perfect alignment between the gateassembly components and are usually not adapted to standard fenceopenings.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention toprovide an improved automatic gate closer.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a combination hingeand automatic gate closer which is less critically dependent upon properalignment of the fence components.

3,339,501 Patented June 25, 1968 Yet another object of the presentinvention is the provision of such a combination hinge and. automaticgate closer which is adapted to be used with only the conventionalspacing between the gate post and gate frame.

An even further object of the invention is the provision of an improvedcombination hinge and automatic gate closer which is less susceptible todamage due to unnatural stresses such as occur when children swing onthe gate, etc.

These and other, further, and more specific objects and advantages ofthe invention will become apparent from the following detaileddescription thereof taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an assembly view of a conventional hinge and automatic gatecloser embodying the present invention installed in a typical chain linkfence application; and

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view, omitting the fence elements, showing theoperative relationship of the various elements of the apparatus of FIG.1.

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view of a fence gate systemincorporating the teachings of the present invention.

Briefly, in accordance with my invention, I provide improvements in afence gate assembly which normally includes a stationary gate post, agate, at least two hinge means connecting the gate to the post, andmeans for positioning the gate in the closed position. The improvementsinclude the improved combination hinge and automatic gate closercomprising a pair of vertically spaced hingeeyes attached to the gatepost and forming a clevis therewith, an L-shaped rod having a verticalleg forming a clevis pin received in the clevis and a horizontal armextending to and affixed to the gate, and a torsion coil spring aflixedat one end to the horizontal arm adjacent the elbow of the L-shaped rodand affixed at its other end to the hinge-eye remote from the elbow. Themode of attachment of the coil spring to the horizontal arm and to theremote hinge-eye induces a compound torsion-bending displacement in thespring when the gate is opened against the spring action.

Turning now to the drawings, in which like reference numerals identifythe same elements, FIG. 1 depicts the presently preferred embodiment ofthe invention chosen for purposes of illustration and shows thevertically spaced hinge-eyes 1 and 2 attached to a tubular gate post 3by means of integral clamps 4 and 5. A retaining bolt 6 is provided inthe lowermost clamp 5 to further resist the rotation of the clamp 5around the post 3. It will be seen that the combination of the tubularfence post 3, the hinge-eyes 1 and 2 and the clamps 4 and 5 form aclevis. An L-shaped rod 7 is provided, the vertical leg 8 of which formsa clevis pin rotatably received in the hingeeyes 1 and 2. The horizontalarm 9 of the L-shaped rod 7 extends through the tubular frame member 10of the gate and is affixed thereto by means of nuts 11 and 12. Motivepower for returning the gate to the normally closed position isfurnished by a torsion coil spring 13 affixed at its upper end 14 bymeans of a fillet weld 15 to the horizontal arm adjacent the elbow ofthe L-shaped rod 7. The coil spring is attached at its other end 16 bymeans of a fillet weld 17 to the hinge-eye 2 remote from the elbow 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the deformation of the coil spring 13 upon openingthe gate is a compound torsion-bending displacement as indicated by thedeformed center line 18. Thus, the motive power for returning the gateto its normally closed position is the sum of the energies stored in thespring through bending (into the plane of the paper) and torsion (in thedirection of the spring winding in FIG. 2). In this manner, it ispossible to obtain greater return force for the same diameter spring or,alternatively, obtain the same force with a smaller spring using thedevice of the present invention in place of common spring-loaded gateclosers of the prior art.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the gate closer-hingecombination illustrated in the drawings can be used alone or incombination with presently known gate hinges such as the hinge elementshown in FIGURE 3. When used alone, it is advantageous to employ a pairof the devices as shown in the drawings, one located near the top of thegate and the other located proximate the bottom of the gate. When usedin conjunction with pre-existing gates, one or more of the devices ofFIG. 1 can be attached at convenient points between the gate post andthe gate not occupied by existing hinges or may be used to replace oneof the existing hinges to form a structure as shown in FIGURE 3.

Various changes in the devices chosen for purposes of illustration inthe drawings will readily occur to persons skilled in the art havingregard for the disclosure hereof. To the extent that such modificationsand variations do not depart from the spirit of the invention, they areintended to be included within the scope thereof which is not limited tothe devices specifically illustrated in the drawings but, rather, onlyby a just interpretation of the following claim.

Having fully described the invention in such manner as to enable thoseskilled in the art to understand and practice the same, the inventionclaimed is:

1. In a fence gate assembly including:

a stationary gate post, a gate, first and second said post, and 5 meansfor positioning said gate in the closed position,

at least one of said hinge means being an improved combination hinge andautomatic gate closer comprising:

(a) a pair of vertically spaced hinge-eyes attached to said gate postand forming a clevis therewith;

(b) an L-shaped rod having:

a vertical leg forming a clevis pin received in said clevis, and

a horizontal arm extending to and affixed to said gate;

(0) a torsion coil spring afifixed at one end to said horizontal armadjacent the elbow of said L-shaped rod and afiixed at its other end tothe hinge-eye remote from said elbow, thereby to induce a com poundtorsion-bending displacement in said spring when said gate is openedagainst the spring action thereof the axis of said vertical leg of saidL-shaped rod being positioned outside of said torsion coil spring.

hinge means connecting said gate to References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner.

